African organisations push for a legally binding treaty
- Lee-Anne Bruce
Civil society organisations and affected communities host an interactive workshop on the second revised draft of the binding treaty on business and human rights
In June 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted resolution 26/9, by which it agreed to establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group (OEIGWG), in order to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights.
The sixth session of the OEIGWG will take place from 26 to 30 October 2020 to discuss the Second Revised Draft of the Binding Treaty. In anticipation of the upcoming session, African civil society organisations are calling for a Treaty that reflects African perspectives and effectively addresses African experiences.
Over the last few decades, the continent has witnessed an increase in foreign direct and local investments—which under the disguise of spurring economic development and in certain cases complicit with State agencies, have been at the helm of massive human rights abuses and violations. These investments, often by large and economically powerful Transnational Corporations, have a long history of profiting from human rights abuses and environmental destruction.
Unfortunately, it remains difficult to hold them accountable for their actions, due to the huge power imbalances that exist between states, corporations and communities. The few attempts to address this, like the U.N. Guiding Principles on business and human rights, are voluntary and ineffective. The current proposed Binding Treaty on TNCs and human rights has the potential to strengthen accountability mechanisms. Many African countries have expressed continuous support for the Treaty. This is an important step for gender justice, environmental rights and peoples’ movements struggles to curb corporate impunity.
The 2020 negotiating session presents an opportunity for African governments, who have often decried international instruments as tools of neocolonialism, to shape a strong framework that could put an end to corporate impunity and provide remedies for victims. We hope to help facilitate this and bolster regional collaboration on the Treaty. A strong, unified African position is a powerful message to the international community, to transnational corporations and importantly to those bearing the brunt of harmful corporate conduct.
As such, today, on 20 October, trade unions, civil society organisations and affected communities will be hosting an interactive workshop on the Second Revised Draft from 10:00 - 15:00 SAST. We will reflect on the key demands that have formed the African perspective on the treaty process and to what extent, if any, these demands have been articulated in the Second Revised Draft.
To join:
Meeting ID: 960 2379 5131
Passcode: 659146
Then, on Wednesday 21 October from 14:00 – 17:00 SAST , African state representatives and Human Rights Commissions are invited to join an online African consultation to discuss with affected people, civil society and experts, the impacts of transnational corporations’ activities in the region and how an effective UN treaty could improve access to justice.
To register:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_E5H6b75MQ2G8EpGDmdGrrw
Issued jointly by:
- African Coalition on Corporate Accountability (ACCA)
- Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC)
- Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID)
- Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS)
- Justic?a Ambiental (JA!) – Friends of the Earth Mozambique
- Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR)
- Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA)
- Southern African Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power
- Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI)
- Uganda Consortium on Corporate Accountability (UCCA)
- Women Affacted by Mining United in Action (WAMUA)
#Africans4BindingTreaty #Feminists4BindingTreaty #BindingTreaty #UNForumBHR #StopCorporateImpunity